In the "Expanse", Jim states that he was born in a "commune farm" and that he (literally) has multiple fathers and mothers - each one added a part of their own of genetic material and then they've selected a woman with the widest hips to carry him to the term.
Was it done for some religious or political reasons? One of his mothers says that "they were preparing him for a fight, that he couldn't win".
What fight was it? I understand that the farm had some legal issues with the government?
According to the source novel it was done (largely) as a tax dodge. Having multiple parents means that each parent can claim a tax break to support their child. Eight parents means eight allowances but with only one additional mouth to feed.
“So many parents for only one child,” Lopez said, slowly unwrapping another lozenge. The Martians had lots of space for traditional families.
“The tax break for eight adults only having one child allowed them to own twenty-two acres of decent farmland. There are over thirty billion people on Earth. Twenty-two acres is a national park,” Holden said. “Also, the DNA mix is legit. They aren’t parents in name only.”
“How did they decide who carried you?”
“Mother Elise had the widest hips.”Leviathan Wakes - Chapter Eleven: Holden
It would appear that his parents weren't just linked for legal purposes, they were also engaged in a complex and shifting polyamorous relationship.
They’d talked about how to break the news to the crew but hadn’t come to any consensus. Holden hated to hide anything. Keeping it secret made it seem dirty or shameful. His parents had raised him to believe that sex was something you did in private not because it was embarrassing, but because it was intimate. With five fathers and three mothers, the sleeping arrangements were always complex at his house, but the discussions about who was bedding with whom were never hidden from him. It left him with a strong aversion to hiding his own activities.
Leviathan Wakes - Chapter Forty-Seven: Holden
